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In This Case, a Blockage Is a Good Thing

Jun 05, 2008

Danish researchers have identified a gene vital to the survival and growth of the malaria parasite, according to work published in PNAS. By knocking out the gene encoding for one of the two membrane potassium channels necessary for the parasite's growth and survival, they found almost complete inhibition of development in the carrier mosquito. "The practical discovery may be that blockage of this channel may make the parasite more susceptible to known drugs," co-author Dan Klaerke says in this Reuters article.

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